DC's Jesse Named One of Ohio's Top 30 Division III Players

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College's Kirk Jesse was recently highlighted by BuckeyeStateBaseball.com as one the state's top 30 returning players at the NCAA Division III level. Jesse will be a senior during the 2010 campaign with the Yellow Jackets. 

The preseason honor comes after Jesse was selected as a Second-Team All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference outfielder following his breakout year in 2009. The athletic center fielder and two-time All-HCAC player set single-season career highs during his junior season with 38 starts, a .333 batting average, 159 at bats, 53 hits, 32 runs scored, 22 runs batted in, four triples and 14 stolen bases. 

Jesse's 159 at bats set a new single-season record for the DC program, while he also etched his named in the program's record books by ranking second in hits, fourth in triples, seventh in runs and eighth in games played for a single season. 

The Ney, Ohio, native will enter his fourth and final year on the diamond with the Purple and Gold with a chance to place himself among the program's finest. Jesse is 76 at bats, 40 hits, 40 runs, 13 doubles and six triples away from the top marks in DC history in each of those statistical categories. 

Jesse and the Yellow Jackets are set to open spring practice on Monday, February 1, with their first game scheduled at Grace College on March 3.